Tolling Advocates Aim to Sell Public

Underscoring the public’s overwhelming opposition to tolls as a way to pay for infrastructure projects, a pro-tolling group has issued a report that seeks to boost public opinion of the funding mechanism.

The Reason Foundation on March 27 issued a document that advocates funding the nation’s transportation infrastructure using what it calls a “value-added tolling.”

In outlining five recommendations for tolling, the Reason Foundation mischaracterizes tolls as a “better deal” and a “positive development” for America’s highway users.

The Alliance for Toll-Free Interstates (ATFI), of which NATSO is a founding member, quickly criticized the document, saying the described policy proposals fail to dispel the myriad concerns held by highway users throughout the country.

“Tolling existing interstates is overwhelmingly unpopular, and public opposition will not be assuaged by poor policies like these, many of which are based on questionable or erroneous assumptions.”

Placing tolls on existing interstate capacity causes traffic diversion, hurts the economy through increased shipping costs for goods, and negatively impacts the communities located around toll facilities, ATFI said. “No recommendation made in this report eliminates these serious consequences.”

Tiffany Wlazlowski Neuman

Tiffany Wlazlowski Neuman develops and executes communications strategies to advance NATSO’s public relations and advocacy goals. Tiffany also develops and oversees partnerships related to the NATSO Foundation’s public outreach initiatives. Tiffany lives in the D.C. metro area with her husband and their two sons.More